UAE made failed attempt to get Saudi Arabia, Qatar to jointly attack Iran: Report

The UAE made a failed bid to convince Saudi Arabia and Qatar to launch a joint military response to Iran’s attacks on the Gulf, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed held a series of calls with Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, shortly after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

Tehran responded by launching thousands of missiles and drones at the Gulf states. The UAE, which normalised ties with Israel in 2021 under the Arab Accords, bore the brunt of the retaliation with almost 3,000 missiles and drones striking the country.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Gulf leaders rebuffed Mohamed bin Zayed’s request for a coordinated Gulf attack on Iran.

The report underscores how the war on Iran has deepened tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as opposed to uniting the Gulf rivals around a common enemy.

It has now been reported that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched retaliatory strikes on Iran, but did so independently.

Saudi Arabia’s strikes have been described by analysts as measured, and the kingdom quickly pivoted to supporting mediation efforts by its ally Pakistan.

In contrast, the UAE targeted Iranian energy sites. The Wall Street Journal reported the UAE hit Iran’s Lavan Island in the Gulf in early April, around the time the US was announcing a ceasefire.

The strike reportedly triggered a large fire and disabled much of the facility’s capacity for months, marking a significant escalation at a time when US President Donald Trump was promoting the ceasefire.

UAE's exposure

Whereas Saudi Arabia has the East-West pipeline to export oil via the Red Sea, the UAE is more exposed to Iran. The war has also dented its status as a tourism and financial hub.

Abu Dhabi lobbied publicly and privately for the US to continue its war on Iran and floated a failed proposal at the United Nations that would have authorised the use of force to respond to Iran’s newfound control of the Strait of Hormuz.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash heavily criticised the Gulf Cooperation Council for its “weak” response to Iran’s attacks. The UAE’s frustration with its Gulf neighbours culminated in its exit from the Opec oil cartel in May.

Amid tensions with Gulf neighbours, the UAE has doubled down on its relationship with Israel.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Israel sent Iron Dome air defence batteries, along with soldiers to operate them, to the UAE to defend against Iranian attacks.

"Israel just sent them - [the UAE] - Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help them operate them. How come? Because there’s an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords," Huckabee said at an event in Tel Aviv earlier this month.

But even the UAE has appeared cautious about acknowledging the depths of its closeness to Israel. Netanyahu’s office said this week that he visited the UAE during the war, yet Abu Dhabi denied the visit ever took place.

Israel’s war on Gaza has been labelled a genocide by the UN, genocide scholars, human rights experts, and world leaders - including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi.